Category: Commercial Spaceflight

by Steven Ruff I consider myself a Martian, at least virtually. I’m actually a Mars geologist, a scientist who applies knowledge of Earth geology to explore Mars geology. But for three months in 2004, I and a few hundred other Earthbound explorers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory got as close to being Martians as humanly …

by Lawrence Dritsas Exploration comprises all kinds of interesting activities and resources, but two are absolutely required: people and money. Every aspect of a successful expedition—relevant technology, supporting institutions, transport logistics, effective methods of observation, and effective communication systems—requires human labor and financial capital. The goals of exploration are equally various, but can be reduced …

by Deji Bryce Olukotun In early 2016, a 14-year-old email scam resurfaced about an astronaut from Nigeria who was lost in space. The premise of the scam, which had been updated for Facebook, was that the astronaut had been left behind on a secret Soviet space station during the Cold War, and his family needed …

by William K. Storey Modern science fiction stories are grounded in contemporary skepticism about politics as well as concern about public-private partnerships and for the future of Earth’s environment. These plausible fictions about the colonization of space resonate with U.S. and world history, in that they extend ideas about technology, business, and migration that are …

by G. Pascal Zachary Space has always been an important spawning ground for dual-use technologies and the associated issues raised by attempts at targeted innovation: that of unintended consequences, or the spectre that many innovators do not get what they want—and, embarrassingly, sometimes get what they don’t want. Because space exploration is on its face …

by Ciro Borriello Humanity’s past and future are deeply intertwined with exploration. During hard times, the bravest ventures have always pushed the bar of progress a little higher. Consciousness and curiosity have walked hand in hand and the magnetic attraction towards the unknown has guided history and led to those peak achievements of our civilization. …